The Welsh Assembly have taken a bold step in animal welfare by banning the use of electric shock collars on cats and dogs. There are now calls for the rest of the UK to follow suit. Both the Kennel Club and the RSPCA were delighted with the outcome and all animal welfare groups are very pleased with ruling. There are believed to be over 500,000 shock collars in the UK and not surprisingly the manufactureres of the collars said that they fear banning the collars will lead to an increased number of unmanagable pets arriving at animal shelters. Research is being carried out into the affects of these collars and if proved that they are harmful could lead to a country wide ban.
I have seen one of these collars in use myself many years ago on a large boisterous, child loving, Chocolate Labrador. We were on the beautiful beach at Westward Ho! on the North Devon coast. If you're not aware of it, when the tide is out it can take 5 minutes to reach the shore line so it is an emense space. The Lab and his owners were walking towards the sea and half way there the lab spotted 2 young children with their father about 400 yards away. Unable to control himself he made a beeline for the family. His owners activated the collar which made the dog momentarily try to remove the irritation he felt (similar to dismissing an annoying fly) but carried on towards the object of interest at great pace. By this time the father had noticed the charging dog and was visibly weighing up his options. The collar was activated again but this time the dog didn't even flinch for a second. The charge was increased and one final attempt made to stop the dog and as if by a miracle he halted instantly just 10 feet from the child laden father with a look of disbalief on his face like it was a bad practical joke.
I remember thinking at the time that surely a dog that size needed to be trained properly before being allowed of a lead, you can't leave it to chance on whether you'll be able to stop him from attacking people. I know he meant no harm, he was overly playful, but the poor man with his young children wasn't to know that and i'm sure it's not something he or his kids forgot for a long time, I haven't forgotten it and I wasn't the one in danger.
Remember how to be a good citizen. Identify your dog with tags and chips, train your dog properly and clean up after your dog - use a Dicky Bag.
